Are region borders always the same?

[Lord Diamond]

If Rick ever lets me, I'm going to write several versions of themap borders. I'd love the Game Master to pick one at random and let us figure it out.

Personally, I don't see why Zarathoncouldn't be part of the Northern Mists, Talking Mountains, Eastern Steppes, or Amberland.

Avalon would be a good fit for Runnimede, Torvale, Amberland, or Arcania.

For that matter, Viperhead could be in Torvale, Oakendale, Amberland, or the Northern Mists. Why not, if Northern Mists gets Zarathon?

There are all sorts of interesting possibilities. Stay tuned!

[Hawk_]

If Rick ever lets me, I'm going to write several versions of themap borders. I'd love the Game Master to pick one at random and let us figure it out.

Personally, I don't see why Zarathoncouldn't be part of the Northern Mists, Talking Mountains, Eastern Steppes, or Amberland.

Avalon would be a good fit for Runnimede, Torvale, Amberland, or Arcania.

For that matter, Viperhead could be in Torvale, Oakendale, Amberland, or the Northern Mists. Why not, if Northern Mists gets Zarathon?

There are all sorts of interesting possibilities. Stay tuned!

I think this would be a great change for the game.

It would sure make turn 1 interesting.

[Jumbie]

Can you imagine a world where the leaders don't know the region borders though?

I mean, imagine if in WW2, no one knew the borders of the Ruhr Valley. Or Scandanavia. Or the Ardennes Forest.

Gamewise it'd be interesting, but I'd be muttering under my breath the whole time that it didn't make sense and wondering why my king wasn't having the royal cartographer and his whole family dipped in hot lead.

[Lord Diamond]

If a king really wants to know the borders of the regions (which are not the same as national borders), he'll send out survey parties. Feel free. There is nothing stopping you other than the fact that you have better things to do with your resources. In peacetime, you may not.

I imagine that the middle ages had many rulers with only a vague idea of what they actually controlled.

[Brogan]

I like the notion of change-up as well. It would be fun not knowing for sure what Region Zarathon/Avalon are located...

Ditto the changing regions with Zarathon and Avalon. It would make it more interesting.

Count me in on this side of the argument as well.

The map should be rotated with each new game. Makes the game way more fun.

[HeadHoncho]

I think this would be great with advance notice before T1. Or before Kingdom picks, maybe. Not necessarily which map, just that it is non-default.

[admin]

Can you imagine a world where the leaders don't know the region borders though?

I mean, imagine if in WW2, no one knew the borders of the Ruhr Valley. Or Scandanavia. Or the Ardennes Forest.

Gamewise it'd be interesting, but I'd be muttering under my breath the whole time that it didn't make sense and wondering why my king wasn't having the royal cartographer and his whole family dipped in hot lead.

There are different kinds of regions, however.

A geographic region, for instance, tends to be a pretty fixed thing. Political regions, however, can be quite distinct things from geographic regions.

Take royal families and their respective influence. They overlap. Sovereignty and political influence are not the same things. As any monarch knows, the loyalty of one's subjects can vary widely.

How does one map political influence, anyway? A given individual may well be receptive to more than one ideology at any given time. Extrapolated out across thousands or millions, influence becomes a very complex commodity.

In a quasi-medieval setting, which is what I equate Alamaze to minus its fantasy elements, blood kin bonds - family ties - would likely factor heavily into political equations, as would religious beliefs. Is one to be loyal to king, country, or God? Life gets complicated, that way, sometimes.

Plus, factor in human ambition, and the brew becomes quite thick. Loyal to the king, or advance one's station in life? And what about old grudges? They die hard.

Anyway, just passing through, and the discussion caught my eye. Carry on.

[HeadHoncho]

As we talk about this, I think a non-standard map game would be really popular! I would jump in on that in a heartbeat, if I weren't already full at my service level.

[Lord Diamond]

As we talk about this, I think a non-standard map game would be really popular! I would jump in on that in a heartbeat, if I weren't already full at my service level.

Creating a new map to play Alamaze on is definitelty something Rick is anxious to do. It's not an easy or quick process, however. We'll see it at some point and it will likely be for fewer players.

[HeadHoncho]

Yes, I don't mean a new map, just the existing map (which I love) with one of the non-standard border draws, which I had read were already in existence.

(Cipher previously said, "I choose whether to use the default map for the scenario as part of specific game creation, or to pick another one of the seven or eight maps that are available. I expect the default map will always be used, but for a change of pace if things seem stale this may be revisited.")

I bet a game like that -- perhaps even with different Kingdom starting locations, as well -- would draw a lot of interest.